View full sizeThe towboat Nature Way Endeavor banks a barge against the western bank of the Mississippi River, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. The river was closed to all traffic eight miles north and south of Vicksburg. (AP Photo/Vicksburg Post, Eli Baylis)

VICKSBURG, Mississippi-- The Coast Guard says oil has spilled
into the Mississippi after two barges hit a railroad bridge in
Vicksburg, and the river is closed for 8 miles in each direction.

Lt.
Ryan Gomez says sheen was reported three miles downriver of Vicksburg.
The hit occurred about 1:12 a.m. Central time. Gomez says booms were set
around the barges to absorb and contain oil.

He says he doesn't
know how much oil has leaked or how much the barges carried. He says one
may have been damaged by hitting the other barge.

He identifies the tugboat pushing both barges as the Nature's Way Endeavor.

Petty
Officer Carlos Vega says that the bridge has been deemed safe for
trains and that federal, state and local authorities were heading there
to assess damage.